GPS-Controlled Headlights Turn Before You Do

Audi was the first automaker to bring LED headlamps to the mass market, and now it’s upping the game by incorporating GPS, pedestrian detection, and selective dimming on the headlights of its flagship A8 sedan.

Originally, LEDs were touted as a way to conserve energy and enhance visibility. But because the small diodes can work independently of each other — unlike standard halogen projector bulbs — Audi is now able to control the precise placement and amount of light projected ahead thanks to computer-controlled lenses and reflectors.

On the refreshed A8 due out later this year, Audi has incorporated 25 high-intensity LEDs into each headlamp, and linked them up with the front-facing camera and GPS system to adapt to a variety of driving scenarios on the fly.

When the system detects an oncoming vehicle, it can selectively dip specific sections of the high-beam headlights to avoid blinding the approaching driver, while still illuminating the majority of the road around the oncoming car. As the car gets closer, more of the LEDs dim, and since it’s all controlled via computer — and not a mechanical system — the reactions are both instantaneous and precisely measured. But adaptive high beams aren’t anything new.

What is new is the incorporation of the LEDs with the built-in GPS. The new setup relays the path of the road ahead and begins bending the light around the corner just before the driver turns the wheel. Add in the night-vision assistance system that can detect pedestrians, and when the sensors notice a biped up ahead, it flashes the LEDs three times directly on the person in the car’s path of travel. That makes them easier for the driver to spot and has the added benefit of getting the pedestrian’s attention. And like all new tech, it starts at the top and trickles down, so figure most of these features will be available on models that don’t cost six figures within the next few years.